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1984: Big Brother Is Watching You

  • Writer: Anisah
    Anisah
  • Jun 13, 2020
  • 6 min read

Big Brother Is Watching You

As time has passed and technology has improved, the worry that our privacy is slowly being eroded has only grown stronger. George Orwell, the author of the novel 1984, intended to show the dangers of an all-knowing government by creating a world where the government watches everything its citizens do and controls their every thought. In the novel, readers see the main character Winston slowly discovers and questions the oppression and control the government Party has over its people through technology. The totalitarian government brainwashed its people into blindly following their lead and punished those that resist. Even today, in this society, there have been massive technological advancements that make it easier for the government to know more about its citizens, which some believe is an extreme invasion of privacy. Much of what Orwell feared is close to becoming a reality in today’s society, if it hasn’t already, from the government's access to the internet, cellular devices, social media, and data collection which can be parallel to much of the technology read in the novel.

Firstly, technological advancements in government surveillance have taken this society one large step closer to the reality of Big Brother. In 1984, the government uses telescreens to watch and listen to what everyone was saying. “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (Orwell). This surveillance technology was used to make sure that their citizens never risked doing anything that could potentially upset the Party since they could be being watched at any time. In today's society, cellular devices and cameras all around the world are used by the government to keep watch over the people. “Governmental agencies such as the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and state and local law enforcement agencies are known to intrude upon the private telecommunications of innocent inhabitants, collect a huge amount of data regarding who people call, and create databases of what they consider suspicious activities, based on the unclear criteria” (Frank) Under the guise of a method used to protect people, the government can use these surveillance tactics to spy on unsuspecting individuals at any time, even without permission. The things they say on the phone, the things they search up, or the places they go can all be tracked. This information can then be used against them; after the attacks on 9/11, the government used this surveillance tactic to find potential terrorists. While it was understandable why the government used these tactics then, it is worrisome to think what it could do if used without care. After the CIA tortured 119 people due to suspicion, 26 were found innocent (Frank). This shows the lengths the government is willing to go to find the secrets of its people: even torturing innocent people. This can be associated with the scene in the 1984 novel when Winston was also tortured by the government for just having thoughts against the Party. Furthermore, in China, they are implementing new laws that will make it so by 2020 “the behaviour of every single citizen and legal person (which includes every company or other entity) in China will be rated and ranked, whether they like it or not… and it would tell everyone whether or not you were trustworthy. Plus, your rating would be publicly ranked against that of the entire population and used to determine your eligibility for a mortgage or a job, where your children can go to school - or even just your chances of getting a date” (Botsman). Once again, this shows how surveillance advancements are taking society closer to the reality of Big Brother. If this actually happens, every single thing a person does in China will be watched and recorded and then used to see whether they are good for the government or not. This is almost exactly like 1984, where the telescreens, which were everywhere, would watch people and make sure they were standing with the government and could be trusted. Soon, Big Brother really will be watching in China.

Secondly, another form of technology that is bringing today’s society one step closer to Big Brother is the massive impact of social media and the internet. While there is no mention of social media in 1984, this is something that has given today’s government and other large companies major access into people’s personal information. Recently, the social media Facebook received major backlash when it was found that “Cambridge Analytica used Facebook’s app system to harvest user data and then sell that data to other companies, a breach of Facebook’s privacy policy (not that anyone at Facebook was monitoring developers that heavily)... [The] biggest sin seemed not to be how it handled user data (which is: poorly) but that it was tied to Donald Trump’s election win” (Feldman). The information that was collected from this company was then used to create targeted advertising and to influence voters behavior. Users of Facebook had unknowingly given up information about themselves that was then used to possibly sway the results of the past presidential election. People usually think that social media isn’t that influential, but the things people read and see on media do affect people's thinking and can affect their decisions. Individuals who join social media willingly participate in giving up their privacy and knowingly allow for surveillance when clicking the “I accept these terms and conditions” without reading what the terms and conditions truly are and this brings society closer to constant surveillance. Furthermore, young adults and children tend to be more susceptible to accidentally give up private information. The social media app Snapchat, predominantly used by young adults “introduced Snap Map, an opt-in function that allows you to share your location with your friends on a map” (Deahl). If it is not specified in settings, anyone in a person’s friend list could see where a person was located and it also collects the data. Snapchat is based on the idea that none of the things you post lasts longer than 24 hours unless the user wants it to, but in reality, nothing can be deleted from the internet. The things that people upload and record (vacation plans, posting what they are doing for the day, and more) are public knowledge that everyone, including the government, has access to and this makes it an easy way for the government to collect data about people. The more access the government has to the lives of its citizens and their private information, the closer society is to the reality of Big Brother.

Overall, it becomes clear that through the technological advancements all around the world, today’s reality is not far off from becoming the reality of Big Brother. Cellular devices, cameras, microphones, and social media are a common part of one’s life but can also be used by the government as a way to collect data on people and to watch and listen to everything they do. In order to prevent the complete loss of privacy, it is necessary to avoid giving out personal information on social media, to reduce one’s digital footprint, and to stay updated on privacy laws in one’s country. By staying knowledgeable about one’s right to privacy, it can push the reality of Big Brother further into the future. As people give up more of their privacy and as technology gets more advanced, the government gets more powerful and closer to the all-knowing persona of Big Brother. Who knows? Maybe Big Brother is watching you right now.

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